A new 100,000-square-foot, class-A self-storage facility recently opened on Bridgeport Avenue in Shelton.
Conveniently located at a traffic light on the corner of Bridgeport Avenue and Avalon Drive, the new facility was developed by Kirchhoff, a real estate investment firm based in New York’s Hudson Valley, according to Greater Valley Chamber of Commerce President Bill Purcell.
“Kirchhoff operates on a national basis and specializes in self-storage, student housing, multifamily and medical properties,” Purcell said to Patch. “This project is the firm’s first investment in Shelton.”
A grand opening celebration and ribbon cutting was held earlier this month at Extra Space Storage, during which Mayor Mark Lauretti, Planning and Zoning Commission Chair Virginia Harger and Purcell welcomed a new addition to Shelton’s corporate community.
“John Hettinger, a partner at Kirchloff, attended the grand opening along with Pamela Marsh, district manager of Extra Space Storage,” Purcell said. “Also joining us was Joe Pierandi, project manager, and Bill Kallert, superintendent at Pat Munger Construction Company, which served as general contractor.”
The facility contains over 750 units and offers customers a variety of solutions to their storage needs, according to additional press materials provided by Extra Space Storage.
Prior to the development, the property comprised a 1-story, 32,000 square foot commercial building which sat partially vacant and had been home to various medical, fitness and other businesses.
Purcell also noted the developer was successful in retaining two tenants on the campus, Community Residences and Pieces of the Puzzle Day Care Center, in addition to construction of the 4-story storage facility.
Hettinger said his team was pleased to bring this new facility to a market they believe was under-served prior to the project’s completion.
“We are particularly grateful to the city of Shelton’s outstanding leadership for helping to make this wonderful project possible,” Hettinger said in a statement sent to Patch. “We also recognize and appreciate the tremendous support of our commercial tenants at the property, Community Residences and Pieces of the Puzzle Early Learning Center.”
Pursuant to the redevelopment, Kirchhoff expanded the footprint of the building and converted the front portion of the structure from one to four stories while also making significant enhancements to the site drainage and hardscape.
The new facility has been developed with industry-leading security and access control systems incorporated throughout, including cameras and security gates, making it safe, secure and well-lit. The project’s unit mix comprises a diverse array of sizes designed to meet a variety of storage needs, according to Extra Space Storage.
“We studied Shelton for several years prior to making this investment,” Hettinger said, “drawn initially by the city’s vibrant commercial corridor, attractive demographic characteristics, and strong civic leadership which adroitly supports smart, responsible growth. As we identified this property as suitable for our business plan and began working through the predevelopment process, our positive initial impressions were reinforced as the pragmatic input that we received from various departments and committees within the city served only to enhance the project.”
David DeVito from M&T Bank provided financing for the project. Dominick Thomas from Cohen & Thomas provided legal counsel during the approval process.
RZ Architecture served as the architect, while Rose Tiso served as the civil engineer and Ryan Bingham from Sullivan & LeShane provided additional counsel throughout.
